Millicom, the Latin America and Africa focused operator group, saw revenue from mobile financial services shift up only slightly by 1.3 per cent to $31 million in Q1 2016, despite a more robust 16 per cent increase in the number of mobile money users to 10.4 million.

Revenue from financial services in Latin America fell by 20 per cent to $8 million, mainly due to macroeconomic factors. The company said revenue in Paraguay declined by 12 per cent.

Mobile money is one of three legs to Millicom’s so-called digital lifestyle strategy, along with mobile and cable television services.

The group’s financial services in Africa performed better, with a nine per cent increase in revenue to $22 million.

The subscriber base of money users is now 10.4 million, composed of 6.7 million users in Africa and 3.6 million in Latin America.